Iran captain Medhi Taremi has slammed Fifa and a “disaster” of a World Cup as his team wait to see if they have qualified for the knockout phase.
In dramatic scenes in Seattle against Egypt on Friday night, Iran thought they had secured second place in Group G when Shojae Khalilzadeh found the back of the net in stoppage time, only for VAR to rule the goal out for offside.
Iran also rattled the crossbar as they desperately searched for a winner but Egypt hung on for a precious point. Mo Salah and Co will face Australia in the last-32, while Iran have an anxious 24-hour wait to see if they will progress as one of the best-ranked third-place teams. They are currently sixth in that table, with the top eight progressing, ahead of Saturday’s final three groups.
Yet Taremi, who won and then missed a first-half penalty on Friday, spoke critically of Fifa and the tournament as a whole, given Iran’s unique situation regarding their short-term US visas. Once again, the Iran team had to leave Seattle for their Mexican base in Tijuana by midnight, leaving little time for recovery after a bruising evening.
Asked about returning to Tijuana tonight, Taremi said: “We have to beg. We always complain about these things since the beginning. It’s a disaster [the] World Cup, a disaster.
“They have to solve every problem here, but unfortunately, they couldn’t solve this since the beginning. Mr Infantino came to our changing room in the first game and he said ‘it’s just the beginning’, but the group stage finishes tomorrow.
“We don’t have our logistics people here, they don’t have a visa. How is it possible that we always have to travel to Tijuana? We love people of Mexico, we love Tijuana, it’s so good. They are humble people. We love them.
“But as professional players, in a professional competition, it’s not right. It’s our opinion because now we are travelling again to Tijuana. So without recovery, without nothing, it’s not fair. By our opinion, it’s not fair.”
Taremi also called on Fifa president Gianni Infantino to “do more” in helping Iran, should they progress to the knockouts. Currently, they are pencilled in to play Switzerland in Vancouver on Thursday.
“We do our best, we always do our best,” he added. “We play for our people. We want them to be happy because we want to bring joy. We want to send a message of peace for the people in Iran, outside of Iran, for FIFA, for everyone.
“But there is no peace for us. Who has to solve this problem with us? Who… FIFA? I don’t know… USA? I don’t know who. I think Infantino can do more to sort this problem out.”
Egypt, meanwhile, will face Australia in the last-32 in Dallas on Friday. Belgium topped the group after a 5-1 win over New Zealand and they will take on South Korea, as it stands.
